Recent advances in shaving razors, such as a 5-bladed or 6-bladed razor for wet shaving, may provide for closer, finer, and more comfortable shaving. One factor that may affect the closeness of the shave is the amount of contact for blades on a shaving surface. The larger the surface area that the blades contact then the closer the shave becomes. Current approaches to shaving largely comprise of razors with only a single axis of rotation, for example, about an axis substantially parallel to the blades and substantially perpendicular to the handle (i.e., front-and-back pivoting motion). The curvature of various shaving areas and direction of hair, however, do not simply conform to a single axis of rotation and, thus, a portion of the blades often disengage from the skin or transfer relatively less pressure onto the skin during shaving as they have limited ability to pivot about the single axis. Therefore, blades on such razors may only have limited surface contact with certain shaving areas, such as under the chin, around the jaw line, around the mouth, etc.
Razors with multiple axes of rotation may help in addressing closeness of shaving and in more closely following skin contours of a user. For example, a second axis of rotation for a razor can be an axis substantially perpendicular to the blades and substantially perpendicular to the handle, such as side-to-side pivoting motion. Examples of various approaches to shaving razors with multiple axes of rotation are described in Canadian Patent No. 1045365; U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,029,391; 5,093,991; 5,526,568; 5,560,106; 5,787,593; 5,953,824; 6,115,924; 6,381,857; 6,615,498; and 6,880,253; U.S. Patent Application Publication Nos. 2009/066218; 2009/0313837; 2010/0043242; and 2010/0083505; and Japanese Patent Laid Open Publication Nos. H2-34193; H2-52694; and H4-22388. However, to provide another axis of rotation, such as an axis substantially perpendicular to the blades and substantially perpendicular to the handle; typically, additional parts are implemented with increased complexity and movement and include components that may be prone to fatigue, deformation, stress relaxation, or creep under certain conditions of use and storage. Furthermore, these additional components often require tight tolerances with little room for error. As a result, current approaches introduce complexities, costs, and durability issues for manufacturing, assembling, and using razors with multiple axes of rotation.
What is needed, then, is a razor, suitable for wet or dry shaving, with multiple axes of rotation, for example, an axis substantially perpendicular to the blades and substantially perpendicular to the handle and an axis substantially parallel to the blades and substantially perpendicular to the handle. The razor, including powered and manual razors, is preferably simpler, cost-effective, reliable, durable, easier and/or faster to manufacture, and easier and/or faster to assemble with more precision.